Coconut and Cacao Nibs Pancake Tower

I’m always super excited when I make new food discoveries that I really really like. Imagine when I make two fabulous discoveries in the same dish!

This is exactly what happened here! This particular pancake recipe got me to discover not one, but two super fantastic foods that I am now totally hooked on.

The first one is coconut flour! When I first saw this recipe on Katie’s site, I thought that the pancakes looked super duper good, but I figured I would probably substitute the coconut flour, since I didn’t have any on hand.

Then, I changed my mind and decided I would go and get some specifically for the recipe. It sounded so yummy, I just had to try it. I figured it was well worth the wait.

GOOD MOVE, LET ME TELL YA!

While at the store, I stumbled upon cacao nibs… again. I had seen them a couple of times before and was extremely curious as to what they might taste like. I really wanted to try them out, but always thought they were a wee bit too expensive and ended up putting them back on the shelf. This time, curiosity took over and the bag made it to my shopping basket.

Did I wait until I made the pancakes to taste the cacao nibs? Of course not! I am not that patient. The bag got opened as soon as I got in my car.

Verdict?

It was love at first bite! The nibs have a crunchy yet creamy consistency, an experience that is very hard to describe. They almost feel cold in your mouth, but I think it’s their extreme bitterness that creates that illusion. Despite that bitterness, you also get a strong, intense chocolaty flavour. MEGA YUM! I could so easily get addicted to those!

As for the coconut flour, (now that bag I didn’t open in my car, for the record…) it has a delicious yet delicate toasted coconut flavour and a dry, sort of absorbent consistency. It confers a very special texture to the pancakes, one that I would describe as dry but smooth and velvety at the same time.

At first, I wasn’t convinced that I liked it all that much, but the more I ate, the more I realized that the texture played a big role in making this breakfast so highly pleasurable. It feels like you are eating forever, that your breakfast will just never end and trust me, that IS a good thing when you are eating something THAT good.

Plus, never before have pancakes satisfied me so much and for so long. I felt good and full for a long time after I was done eating.

The addition of the cacao nibs just sent those already delicious pancakes through the roof. The added crunch and bitterness… OH MY! Just like Katie said, I could eat these every day for the rest of my life.

Now, Katie promised that I would get 8 pancakes out of this recipe. I figured they would be very small pancakes, and indeed they were, but still, not quite AS small as I would’ve imagined. I would say about the sizeof a slice of grapefruit. I used a little under a quarter of a cup per pancake, (I filled my ¼ cup measure only ¾ of the way up for each pancake) and I did manage to get all of the 8 promised pancakes, although I did have to scrape my bowl really well and still, the last one was a wee bit smaller than the others.

You don’t have to make 8 pancakes either, you can make as little or as much as you want, it just depends on the size that you choose to make yours. In the end, you will be getting the same amount of super-healthy-yet-decadently-yummy-and-oh-so-satisfying-breakfast.

Allright, I’m done talking now, I’ll give you the recipe. But before I do that, I’ve only got this one more thing to say: Thank you so much Katie for that brilliant addition to my cooking repertoire!

Wow those look amazing! What a coincidence, I just ordered cocoa nibs. I had always thought they were a little pricey too so I’ve always put them back but now I can’t wait to get my order and try them out. I haven’t tried coconut flour yet, but it looks great, can’t wait to try some 🙂 These pancakes look great 😀

What a fantastic recipe. I love cocoa nibs. And paired with the coconut pancakes?? It’s so elegant. I can’t get over it. I love how pretty you have them all stacked up. Thanks for the recipe. And thanks for reminding me I need to buy some cocoa nibs. Soon.

Thanks Jen! I got mine at Marchés TAU, but I’m pretty sure you can get it at any natural food store, or even in the “organic” section of your grocery store. You’d be surprised at what you can find there!

These look amazing!!! I’ve been loving cacao nibs lately too!!! They are SO delicious and crunchy and have been using them in ice cream, yogurt, spoonfuls of peanut butter and in smoothies – but I haven’t tried these yet in pancakes! Coconut flour + PB + cacao nibs = perfect combo! Your pumpkin and zucchini bread sounds amazing too! 🙂

Thank you so much Carolyn! If you like coconut, you won’t be disappointed with the flour. I tell you, that flour is so good, you could almost eat it by the spoonful! Although you might need a LARGE glass of water to go with that! 😉

These pancakes look amazing! I would love to try them whenever I get around to getting some coconut flour! I have a question though, are egg whites from the carton as healthy as fresh? I mean, I guess I would just think that they would have to add some sort of preservatives to keep them from going rancid.

Thanks Andrea! According to the manufacturer, “cartoned” egg whites contain no added preservatives, they are just as fresh and nutritious as the real thing. They even claim that their egg whites are free run! When you think of it, an egg keeps for a fairly long time…

Oh my gosh. Those pictures! You need to become a food photographer for magazines or books or something. I’m sick of going to the supermarket, waiting in line and seeing horrible pictures on the cover of food magazines (in Germany, anyway). And I will buy a bag of coconut flour now because of this sentence: “It feels like you are eating forever, that your breakfast will just never end.” Hehe. I owe at least trying these pancakes to the person who came up with that awesome sentence. But 7 egg whites again! I’ll have to make a sacrifice and make some delicious ice cream, and make these pancakes the following morning. 🙂

You need a comment plugin thingie! One that emails the person when you respond to a comment. I’m losing track of all the recipes of yours I need to check. It’s just an idea. 🙂

Thank you for your great suggestion too, I did add the comment plugin thingie. Hope it works! If not, I know that I can count on you to let me know. You’re almost like my official “blog assistant” now! Thank you so much for that, too! You rock, girl! 🙂

I must be doing something wrong as the batter was so runny it spread out across the entire pan. I used almond flour instead if coconut as I did not have coconut at the time. On my box of egg whites it says 1 egg white is 2 tbsp. But I ended up adding 1/3 of a cup more flour and additional baking soda. Are my egg white instructions wrong as the initial batter was super runny. Thanks for any suggestions

You’re simply using the wrong kind of flour, Shelley. You absolutely need to use the coconut flour for this recipe to work, as coconut flour is extremely absorbent… whereas almond flour is not absorbent at all. I guess you could look at this like coconut flour is to paper towels whereas almond flour is to waxed paper… Not even remotely close to having the same properties. 😉

I was so excited to try this recipe. Ordered some coconut flour online and made them as soon as my flour was delivered. My batter was really thick and the pancakes were very dry. Do you have a particular brand of coconut flour that you use?

I’m not using a particular brand, Sandy, but coconut flour is really, really absorbent, so maybe you needed to add a little bit more liquid. However, like I said in the post, the pancakes do have a somewhat dry texture to them… Maybe try adding an extra egg next time if you find your batter to be too much on the thick side? Hope you liked your pancakes, still!

Primary Sidebar

Hey there!

Welcome to my kitchen!

I’m Sonia, a former overweight, heavy drinker, chain smoker and food junkie now trying to find my own healthy balance, one meal at a time.
Welcome to my world, and feel free to flip through the pages of what I like to call my culinary diary.
Who knows, you might find one or two recipes that will inspire you...